Dr Who - MASSIVE SPOILER ON THE FRONT PAGE OF DAILY MAIL.

[BloodandGlitter]

Just a warning for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, there's a huge spoiler as headline news on the mails website.

So why is this news at all? They don’t announce the major plot points of every show on the news. If you know you know, and if you couldn’t care less . . .

So you don't actually have a considered response to make, then?

Once something has aired it's ridiculous to whinge about "spoilers" because some unspecified number of people for various unspecified reasons might not have seen it and might still want to.

You'd have to have a social media ban on discussing it and blanket press ban. How long would this go on for? Days? Weeks?

I didn't give a "considered" response because the proposition doesn't merit more than it's ridiculous. It's a prime time television show, honestly, anyone whinging about spoilers should grow uo.

Once it's been broadcast (or dropped onto streaming) it's out there, it's news, people want to talk about it. It's a chance you take if you don't watch live or catch up before looking at news websites or SM. It's only a spoiler if it comes out before broadcast IMO.

Marketing - it was prior to last 4 seasons a big show for BBC with long histroy and even part of the zeitgeist so they hide behind that.

The audience figures have fallen or a cliff - ones like us still watching are not impressed -rumours are disney not signing up again - BBC not been clear if they are doing a hiatus - current incarnation of doctor proved unpopular.

So expect it people near the show if they can drum up interest via media maybe the Iplayer figures might be higher and/or they can point to media interest when trying to get another series signed off.

It's been widely rumoured since start of the season and I think confirmed the current actor playing Dr Who was leaving and it's even out there who was replacing.

So do you have any comments on my question as to whom the spoiler articles are actually intended for?

The BBC appear to disagree, as they give a clearly labelled spoiler alert - albeit stupidly after they've already prominently displayed the spoiler.

It seems very curmudgeonly to just assume that the huge numbers of people who have to work on Saturday evenings arbitrarily shouldn't get to enjoy the same big programmes that those who get to be at home then are able to.

We live in a time when TV programmes no longer have to be 'be there at the time of airing or miss it' - yet there still seem to be some people (probably those who don't have to work shifts and antisocial hours) who would rather go back to that time.

Nobody seems to have an answer to my question as to whom the articles are for. Those who've already watched already know, and those with no interest in the show don't care; so what is the actual point?

I don't think it counts as a spoiler once the episode has actually aired.

I don't think it should be on the BBC news, but not because of the "spoiler" aspect - just because it's not actually news. But the BBC does this all the time. Runs "news" articles about its own programmes, as if it's some kind of service in the public interest, when actually it's just free advertising and publicity - this really annoys me. The BBC is meant to be free from advertising, but we still get it shoved down our throats.

In answer to the question of who it's for: it's "for" anyone the BBC thinks might be persuaded to watch that programme. It's an advert with a big photo. They do it because they can. It's not actually designed to fill a need for information, it's designed to give publicity to a product.

Can you imagine the outcry if the BBC gave out the football results from earlier thag day without their obligatory "If you don't want to know, look away/turn over/go into another room now"?

It's "for" anyone who has the vaguest interest. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Nobody seems to have an answer to my question as to whom the articles are for. Those who've already watched already know, and those with no interest in the show don't care; so what is the actual point?

It's to drum up interest in hopes they get next series commissioned.

It's for people like me who have a passing interest (have family members that watch will probably chat about it at work tomorrow) in the hopes that it will persuade more people to watch. Or maybe people also like me that don't find spoilers detract from the drama all that much.

I concede that maybe it is still a spoiler if it's after the event. But I don't agree they should have to keep it quiet for an unspecified length of time after broadcast, it is their business to get as many talking about it and watching as possible. It is the same with football, if you don't want to know stay off news and social media till you've watched.

I think this is a bit different, though.

People aren't watching Doctor Who episode in order to find out who the next actor will be. It's not the "result." And the stuff that happens in the episode has no bearing on who the next actor will be.

You could watch the whole of yesterday's episode (although I wouldn't recommend it; it was dire) and not a single plot point would be undermined by knowing who the next actor will be, or even by knowing that there would be a change of actor. I don't see how it would "spoil" anything.

It was already widely known well before Saturday that Ncuti Gatwa was leaving. And yes that episode was dire.

I won't bother then!

It was also on ITN News yesterday evening, including spoilers so that was definitely not a case of marketing as it was on a competitor’s channel.